In June 2007, an autologous lower extremity deep vein was used for arterial reconstruction for the first time in the Czech Republic. For this procedure, the superficial femoral vein was harvested in its full length, including part of the popliteal vein. Due to previous explantation of an infected prosthesis, the patient had critical ischemia and progressive gangrene of the lower extremity. His condition required an iliac-femoral artery reconstruction. Because of the high risk of recurrent infection, none of the conventional approaches involving a vascular prosthesis could be used. The implantation of a lower extremity deep vein appears to be very efficient in the treatment of prosthetic graft infection, which is one of the most serious and feared complications in vascular surgery.

        Key words: prosthetic graft infection – superficial femoral vein – lower extremity deep vein –autogenous reconstruction